Archaeology Club Last Field Trip of the Year: The Salinan Echo Rock

On May 10, 2025, the Archaeology Club took their third and final field trip of the year to Fort Hunter Liggett and the Los Padres National Forest to see Echo Rock and the San Antonio Mission!! After driving through the scenic landscape, the club stopped at the trailhead for the Echo Rock, an Indigenous place known to the Salinan as the Khoye. The Echo Rock is not known to most people, but luckily Dr. Terry Jones, the club advisor, had a copy of the field notes written by J.P Harrington in the 1930s that described the site and its location. Although Harrington’s writing was hard to decipher, Jones re-located Khoye about 30 years ago, and was able to lead the club back to it where the club tested it out. Hearing  the echo reverberate back from the club’s shouting was well worth the hike!! After hiking back to the trailhead, the club took a short lunch break while hearing about the history of the San Antonio mission before driving back to see it. Once there, the club took a walk outside to see the old agricultural sites, as well as the cemetery, both of which still have well preserved adobe walls. Inside of the mission was a recently updated museum that contained lots of information and artifacts pertaining to both the Salinan and the missionaries. Overall, it was a very fun and educational day for the Cal Poly Archaeology Club!! If you are interested in joining in on our next club meeting or field trip, please reach out to our club president, Sophie Fioravanti, at sfiorava@calpoly.edu!!!